


You Can Hear it in the Silence

by serafina19



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-20 10:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4783910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When it came to their feelings for each other, Amy and Jake thought that all the weirdness was in the past. But since the Boyle-Linetti wedding, their thought processes tell another story. Slight AU right before “Johnny and Dora.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Amy

In the last couple weeks, Amy realized there was only one real downside to working across from Jake Peralta. It wasn’t his pranks or punchlines, the way his crumbs found their way onto her desk, or the disorganized way he sorted his paperwork. Those were easy to deal with, and she was used to all of that.

No, this was something that she used to love, but now, silence held unanswered questions and dangerous topics to ponder. Amy knew that she had a hand in this recent change, although at the time, that wasn’t her intention. Before the Boyle-Linetti wedding, she and Jake had insisted the weirdness between them was over, but slowly, all of their flirty habits came back. The faux proposal, professional role playing, disclosing weird secrets, much to the other’s amusement. If nothing else, Amy regretted telling him that she played French horn.

Then again, nothing compared to when she told him that she might know someone who wanted to slow dance after his plans to reunite with Jenny Gildenhorn fell through. Jake fell for her misdirect hook, line and sinker, but seeing the way he looked at her, Amy had deliberated whether she wanted to keep up with it. The whole time that she watched him dance with Gina's great aunt, it didn't bother her, but later that night, Amy realized their conclusion was wrong.

Since then, whenever she sensed him looking at her while they were at their desks, she did everything she could to not let him know. Nothing good came from looking at him unless he said her name. The few times she had, Jake would either look away or their eyes would meet, making things awkward. Unfortunately, that knowledge didn’t help her now, as she couldn’t ignore the stare or the possible reason why.

At least on the surface, things appeared to be normal between them again, as they had perfected what Amy was starting to think were poker faces in front of the team. More importantly, they caught the bad guys with ease whenever they worked together. But back at their desks, when the only noise was Scully snacking or the ticking clock, it was different. After all, what exactly was their normal since Jake admitted his feelings for her? They hadn’t been single at the same time since, and knowing what they did, there was a lot of second guessing involved.

Swallowing hard, she knew that she had to bring her head up to grab a case file. Knowing that Jake was still staring, Amy decided to tear off the band-aid and bring her eyes up. It didn’t take long for him to snap back to himself, as he grabbed a stapler before turning his chair towards Charles’ desk to shoot the stapler into the nearby garbage can.

“Nothing but net as usual, Jake.”

Amy rolled her eyes, but upon looking at her desk again, she realized something. “Hey, that’s my stapler!” He must have borrowed it earlier today and never gave it back. She pushed herself from her desk and walked over the trash can. At least Charles hadn’t tossed something foreign in there yet and it wasn’t Hitchcock’s garbage.

Leaning down, she heard Jake laughing from behind her, but Amy tried to ignore it to pull her stapler out. It had some remnants of Charles’ garbage on it, so she brushed them off. _Ugh_ , she thought, _now I have to disinfect this_.

“Santiago.”

Hearing the Captain’s voice, Amy forgot about her stapler, clapping her arms against her side and standing up straight. “Here,” she said, as the stapler clicked together, causing a staple to fall to the ground.

Captain Holt noticed it fall, causing her to close her eyes momentarily, but it wasn’t long before he was looking back to her. “I just received information that Owen Kindall has surfaced. Diaz is running another case and asked for you and Peralta to cover.”

“Consider it covered,” she said, glad that sounded remotely even-toned.

By the time she got the address from the Captain, Jake had gotten up from his desk, ready to go. He wanted to drive, and Amy didn’t feel like arguing, so she passed him the address. As he went to the elevator, Amy returned her stapler to its proper place and ran over her paperwork to Charles so he could finish his part.

It was interesting being partners with him for that case, as it didn’t happen too often. Even this time, Jake was technically their first choice, but his injuries kept him off active duty, so Amy had stepped in. But working with Charles was refreshing, because as many knocks as he got, he was a great detective. There was one habit of his that bothered her though.

_“So… what’s going on between you and Jake?”_

She usually smacked him in response, as mild abuse was the easiest way to get out that question. It didn't stop Charles from asking, but she was fine with that particular band-aid until she knew what her answer was.

What she did know was that dating Teddy was hard enough and the consequences were ugly when it fell apart. She knew that any fallout from a relationship with Jake would be ten times worse, and before, that was enough to keep her away.

Now was different. Now, she couldn't seem to ignore the feelings that had returned to the surface and she couldn't seem to figure out why.

Looking at his goofy grin, Amy shook her head, as that wasn't completely true. She had grown to love the way that he smiled at her and it happened at work just as often as outside of the 9-9. That was impressive because usually, Amy didn't have to work hard to isolate herself socially. Between her OCD and work schedule, friendships and relationships seemed to effortlessly fall apart. But Jake knew her well enough and he even admitted that he liked her first. 

Granted, that was a different time. She was dating someone, but he gained the courage to tell her the truth. It could even be the truth now, but she ignored it because Amy didn't want to give an inch if it meant losing what they had. That decision didn’t come without moments of awkwardness, but often, they would find their way out of it, like when Jake’s face lit up when they approached their car.

There wasn't a car parked next to theirs, so Amy knew what came next. No matter how many times he had failed, he could never resist attempting to slide across the hood to get to the driver’s side. To her surprise, he actually succeeded this time.

Seeing the satisfaction in his eyes, Amy couldn’t help but laugh. “How many times did you practice that?” Because last time, he practically face planted on the car hood.

“Doesn’t matter. I told you that I’d do it.” Jake fired his fist up in the air and nodded. “Peralta guarantee achieved.”

Amy rolled her eyes as she opened the door. “Just get in the car.”

He listened, but in regular Jake fashion, he didn’t waste any time starting the car and driving away before she got settled.  When he expectantly looked back at her, Amy glared at him, but seeing the way that he smiled stopped her comment. It also made her wish that he would make a quip, because once Amy looked away, she knew there was only so long that she could get distracted by the people on the sidewalk.

Sure enough, within minutes, her eyes were inevitably drawn back to Jake.

It wasn’t like he was unattractive. When he let his hair grow long, Amy had caught herself wanting to work her fingers through the resulting curls. But the shorter look suited him better, not because it was well-maintained or styled, but rather because it brought more attention to his eyes, which had this crazy balance of silliness and sincerity.

Even from his profile, there was something sexy about the way he focused on the road ahead. But she couldn’t stare for too long, because then he would look at her and she had no explanation for why that she was ready for him to hear.

Mostly because when it came to her feelings for Jake, it stemmed further than skin deep. The thing was, he always cared, even if it was none of his business. It matched why he wanted to be a cop because he wanted to make people's lives better and he always saw value in making people smile and laugh. Sure, right now her stapler was covered with a mess of bacteria thanks to him, but Amy knew she still wouldn't change anything about him.

But that made her realize something. “Shoot, I forgot to clean my stapler,” she blurted, not surprised to hear him laugh in response. “Yeah, well, next time throw your own stapler.”

“That would require having a stapler,” he said. That didn’t surprise Amy, but that didn’t stop her from maintaining her expression when their eyes met. “Oh come on, I had to do something. You were in your weird mood of obsessing over paperwork. What case could possibly be that interesting?”

“I was putting the final touches on the Nesterton abduction case.” It wasn’t as much paperwork as usual, as her and Boyle were brought in as extra resources for the 82nd precinct. Still, it was a case that could have turned ugly quick, but luckily, they were able to get a kid safely back to her mother.

Of course, one look at Jake’s face and she knew that he thought she wasn’t thinking about the case. “Huh.”

“Don’t give me that, Peralta. It’s just paperwork.” She hadn’t worked on it for very long and she was already done her end. Once Charles was done, this case was over and it hardly had any awkwardness.

But that wouldn’t stop Jake from pointing out, “On a case where you had to work with your ex.” He scoffed before turning his head. “Let me guess, you bonded over pilsners after you got the guy.”

“Jake, this isn’t funny,” she said, bracing herself for what would likely be a long list of reasons for why this was funny from his perspective, but Amy soon found out that she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Gone were his playful eyes, as he merely pursed his lips.  “I thought you were over Teddy.”

“I am," Amy said, "but it doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty for the way things ended.” To be fair, most of her break-ups were messy, despite her due diligence and preparation, but this one was especially embarrassing because her partner had a ringside seat.

“That was kind of my fault.”

It was nice of Jake to say that, but that wasn’t fair. “If I had gotten the courage to do what was needed instead of making a speech, that road trip disaster could have been avoided.” She didn’t have the courage to say that it also would have prevented Jake from finding out that she had thought about what they would be like _romantic stylez._

“But that’s what you do.”  Focusing on the road, Jake guided the car through a left turn, but that didn't stop him from grinning. “You shouldn’t have to change who you are to do the right thing Santiago-style.”

Her head unconsciously jerked back, as that was oddly sweet. “Even if it led to the most awkward dinner date of all time?”

Jake shrugged. “It’s in the past, right?”

That was becoming a more dangerous question lately, so Amy felt herself hesitate as she figured out if it had any additional meaning. By the time he looked at her, Amy realized that didn’t matter, so she cleared her throat before saying, “Right.”

But maybe it did really matter. The last time he said that in a car, they were driving back from that upstate bed and breakfast. Amy was fresh out of her relationship, Jake was barely holding onto his. One could argue that was where this actually started for her, because Amy hadn’t thought about her feelings for Jake in months. But considering Teddy was pretty convinced they was still present, it got her thinking again.

Technically, Teddy was right. She did second-guess their relationship, while holding onto it because she figured Jake would take his confession back when his life didn't feel like it was on the line. When he did take it back, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Justified in her decision to hold onto a relationship that was slowing cracking, but also confused why Jake would have lied about that.

Then everything changed. Again.

_“That wasn't nothing. That was real.”_

Never in her life had she wanted to question a verb tense more, but she stayed strong. This was Jake after all. She had never seen him in a stable relationship for too long, and while things settled after his return from undercover work, then Sophia happened.

She was the enemy, but he tried to make it work, even when faced with the fact that Amy had feelings for him too. It eventually did fall apart, and it broke him for awhile, but he was back to being typical Jake. At that point, they were both back to their regular selves, single, and with the knowledge that they once had feelings for the other.

Hence the punishment of silence. Because while most women would love to be in her shoes, to know that there was someone who saw her that way, for Amy, that only made things harder. They weren't fools, they knew they've had their moments, but whenever that came up, all they would say was that it was in the past.

Even if it wasn’t, admitting something is only half the battle and having the courage to do something was a hefty step to take. Because on top of the usual downsides to dating a cop that Amy had experienced, there was a chance they would have to change partners, or one of them might have to transfer out of the 9-9, which she knew neither of them wanted.

Still, that didn't put her mind at ease, because when she was with Jake, her curiosity wouldn't let her stop thinking that maybe there was something real here. She tried distracting herself in the past, thinking about the current case, her brothers, the next show on her DVR, but inevitably, _he's there_ , so any other topic eventually becomes moot.

_“I didn’t say love or deeply.”_

And it wasn’t love yet. But it was more than nothing. It was more than _Maybe, yes… a little._

"There he is," Jake said, and Amy hoped that he didn't catch her lost in thought again. She hadn’t even realized that the car had stopped. “You want to read him his rights?”

Reaching over to undo her seatbelt, she pointed out, “We have to question him first.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

From the moment the car doors opened, they were in their element. They knew the basics of the case, how Kindall matched a sketch described by a witness for a breaking and entering case, how he had motive, but he had managed to give Rosa the slip and he had been in the wind until now.

Getting out of their car, they tried to catch up to Kindall, but he spotted them first.

“Why do they always run?” Jake said, putting his hand on his hips and causing Amy to roll her eyes. Luckily, she knew this neighborhood and how to best catch their suspect.

“He apparently wants you to read him his rights,” she said, turning to run down another street.  “Keep close to him. I’ll cut him off in the alley a block down.”

A few steps into her run, she heard Jake call out, “I know it shouldn’t but that kind of turns me on.” 

Amy huffed as she looked back on her partner. “Jake!”

That was enough to get her partner back to earth. “Right, I’m on it.”

Seeing him take off, Amy returned her focus on the street in front of her, but she was unable to stop the grin that formed. After all, it wasn’t wrong to be flattered by that kind of compliment. After turning down the alley, she didn't hear anything, which was a good sign. Either Kindall was a slower runner or Amy had improved her sprinting speed, which made her grin grow to a smile. She kept running, waiting to hear a verbal sign from her partner, but by the time she reached the end of the alley, all Amy could hear was a man puffing.

Leaning against one of the walls, Amy took a glance around the corner, glad to see Jake had distracted their perp long enough for her get a good look. Kindall was heading her way, so Amy tilted her head back, timing his approaching steps to the alley.

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

She moved to cut off his path, but Kindall was a lot closer than she thought, so her leg ended up tripping him. It had also thrown her balance a little, but luckily, her training kicked in and she found her footing. Kindall tried to get up, but Amy adjusted her stance to ensure he stayed down. “Don’t move,” she said.

“Nicely done, Santiago,” Jake said, finally catching up.  “That was kind of badass.”

Amy was tempted to tell him to be a bit more professional in front of a suspect, but decided to take the compliment. “Thanks.”

After Jake handcuffed Kindall and read him his rights, they all found their way back to their car. That led to a whole new round of silence, with the exception of the odd call going out on the radio.

She saw Jake mouth a few words on the trip back to the precinct and Amy wondered if that was the way that he coped. It would match her feelings about the last couple of weeks, as both of them were likely hoping that one day their feelings would match the words they said on this matter. That was easier said than done though, as she still couldn’t think of something else to think about, and as she glanced at her partner once more, Amy took note of the way he gripped the wheel, the subtle way he was biting the inside of his lip.

_Damnit,_ she thought. _We really do have to talk._

Hitting her head against the seat, she noticed Jake looking in her direction before returning his eyes to the road. She repressed a sigh then, but she let it out when they got back to the precinct.

"Hey, everything okay?"

She wanted to tell him no, despite their constant knack for terrible timing, but today was proof that it didn't affect their professional work yet. That was enough for now.

"Yeah, just a long day." She sold Jake her best smile before tilting her head towards Kindall. "You okay taking him to holding?”

"You sure?"

"You know me, I like the paperwork." Besides, it was Rosa’s case, so Amy had a feeling it wouldn’t make much of a difference. She was right, as once they got inside, Rosa was there to greet them, grateful that they didn’t screw up her case and took her perp to holding. That meant Amy went back to her desk to continue her work, without any distraction from Jake.

After about ten minutes, a few strange screams broke out from interrogation, so Amy looked up. Sure enough, Jake was approaching his desk and quickly explained that Rosa had helped Charles get a confession. Amy was tempted to investigate, but then Rosa came back with a grin on her face, while Charles went to the kitchen to get ice for his head and something told Amy that she didn’t really want to know.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, so when the end came, Amy was ready to go home. She packed up her things and bid everyone good night before heading towards the elevator. On the way, she nodded to Rosa who rolled her eyes before looking back at her work. That was par for the course, so Amy kept moving, but after a few steps, she recognized that someone was following her.

"Any plans tonight?"

Of course it was Jake. She bit the inside of her lip, glad that he couldn’t see it, but she kept her course, hitting the button for the elevator. "I have a date with my PVR. You?"

The elevator doors opened, so they both got inside. Jake pressed the button and leaned against the back wall. "Die Hard marathon."

Amy laughed. "Don't you ever get tired of those movies?" She knew that he loved and quoted them, but there had to be a limit, right?

Based on the gasp that Jake gave her, clearly not. "Blasphemy."

In that moment, she couldn't help but smile. Forgetting the context, any potential awkwardness, _this_ was her preference for their normal, the effortless way that conversation formed and how it made her relax, especially after a tough day. "Yeah I suppose it is."

He smiled back at her when the doors opened again and they walked outside trading quips. It almost caused her to forget how much she had hoped to leave before him. Jake had even decided to walk to her car, so when they arrived, Amy stopped at her driver's door, ready to thank him.

Only he spoke up first. "Hey Ames, there’s ..."

This was by far the worst kind of silence between them, the moment he would look at her and his words fell away. It should be flattering, it should tell her everything she needed to know, but Amy was too afraid to burst that bubble. That caused her words to fall away too and they just stared at each other.

“Hey you two,” Charles said, his voice about ten pitches higher than normal. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “For the hundredth time, Boyle, no.”  Although Amy had a suspicion that this was the first time that Jake was actually lying.

“Well,” Charles said, looking between them, likely looking for a crack in their expression. Both of them didn’t give him that satisfaction. “Sarge is buying a round at Shaw’s if you’re not too busy.

“I know my PVR can wait,” Amy said, “but last I checked, not much comes between Peralta and Die Hard.”

She turned towards her car to unlock her door, letting her friends settle things, but she felt herself pause when Jake spoke. “True, but free drinks is one of the exceptions. I’m in.”

Amy turned around to see Charles smile. “Alright,” he said, high-fiving Jake on the way to his car.

Jake had looked over his shoulder, watching Charles walk away before looking back to her. “That’s okay, right?”

Amy cleared her throat, hating that she had caved that much, but she grinned in an attempt to hide it. “Sure,” she replied with a shrug. “Why wouldn’t it be?” She thought back to her pause, but Jake couldn’t have noticed that.

“Right,” he said. With a grin, he began walking to his new car, which Amy was still getting used to. It was for a good cause, but she never thought Jake would sell his old car and it was clear that he didn’t like this car nearly as much.

“Jake, wait.” She regretted opening her mouth the moment the words come out, but there was no going back once he stopped walking. “You… were going to say something.”

“Right, that.”  He took a few moments before turning, and Amy recognized that she caught him a little off-guard. “Actually, I was thinking it had been awhile since we got a drink after work, so this works out perfectly.”

“Oh… okay. See you in a few.”

With that, Amy turned to get in her car, unable to resist watching Jake follow suit. Meanwhile, her mind deliberated the meaning behind his recent answer. At first, Amy thought he had said the first thing that came to mind because this wasn't exactly the first time he would have avoided telling her something.There were multiple times when they worked with Detective Majors alone, but then, Jake had changed the conversation, or joked around, including one potential slip that Amy tried her best to ignore. Because lost in all of these thoughts was what she had told Jake shortly after the Majors case.

_“I have a new rule. I don’t date cops.”_

She meant it then, she meant with everyone else, but Jake Peralta seemed like an exception in every way. But he didn’t know that, and he was respecting that rule, even though he didn’t believe in rules. Meanwhile, Amy was considering breaking that rule, because while technically Jake wasn’t great at actually asking her out, going for drinks after work was close and her reaction to that comment suggested that maybe a relationship with Jake wasn’t the scariest thing in the world.

Where it might lead, Amy still didn't have the answer for, but she had never had control in her relationship with Jake, so why she thought now was the time to start was silly. True, it would be complicated, but so what? Everything in her life hadn’t come easy. Standing out and living with seven brothers did that to a person, not to mention picking the professional equivalent of that in becoming a cop.

Her strong work ethic also made her quite different to her peers, as she had grown to enjoy plenty that most people didn’t. Tests, paperwork, dealing with authority figures, that was the tip of that iceberg, so why would her romantic life be any different?

In fact, the last year of their relationship fit perfectly with that concept. An ill-timed confession, followed by separation, a confusing return, as well as complicated and messy endings of relationships on both sides. Those were the parts Amy had tended to focus on, which had caused her to sometimes lose sight of what exactly Jake was to her.

He may have infuriated her when they met, but he also had this crazy sense of knowing when to quiet the hijinks and be there for her. He always made her laugh and feel better. With him, a forced date ended up being a reasonable night. He even cancelled his plans to do a stake-out, not telling her that he refused the relief team. But otherwise, he’s honest when it matters, including showing her that he was just as afraid of getting hurt as she was.

She didn’t want to admit it, but that was the message she was getting out of Jake’s silence lately, and it was only a matter of time before that would be the same case for her. But with everything they had done, everything they had joked about, was the risk really as big as they thought?

Honestly, they were practically in a relationship already and things hadn’t changed too much between them. They could smile at each other when they left work, they could still joke with each other, they could still see each other after work. That was something wasn’t it?

As she turned the key in the ignition, Amy let a grin break through. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t so crazy after all.


	2. Jake

No matter how much Jake insisted that they were back to being friends, he knew their actions likely said otherwise. Since the Boyle-Linetti wedding, things were different, and he still couldn’t find the courage to talk to Amy about it because he didn’t know good it would do. The fact that he had no idea how Amy felt about him and she didn’t date cops should have been enough for him to move on. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cut his losses when it came to this, and while his first confession didn't make things weird at work, he had a hunch that wasn't the case anymore.

He knew he had to be more careful, but sometimes he couldn’t help staring, especially because Amy usually sat in front of him at briefings and their desks were across from each other. When it came to the latter, there was something about the way that she grinned as she did paperwork, or the way her large glasses framed her eyes whenever her contacts got dry, or the rare occasion she’d bite her nails, only to file them minutes later.

Today, there wasn't much of a smile, more of a contemplative look, but it still caught Jake’s attention. He tried to think about her cases, what would cause this look. He had a hunch, but he had hoped he was wrong because it wouldn’t make his situation easier.

Jake swallowed hard before looking around the precinct, remembering the words he would use to mask what he was feeling. They were words that Amy had heard too, words that would write himself off as an option, even though Jake was still uneasy with the idea of her dating someone else. Looking back at his partner, he pursed his lips, knowing it wasn’t fair to her, but this wasn’t easy for him.

He even considered doing research to figure out if any personal relationship would affect their professional relationship, because if he knew one thing, it was that meant something to both of them. That was probably how he came around to _liking_ her. They had a weird dynamic, as Amy dealt with his tactics, but kept him from going too far. Jake liked to think he was good for her too, reminding her to relax from her mission from time to time.

Times like these, when it looked like the paperwork could take over her life. Or at least, that was before he noticed her eyes stop moving. There was a good possibility that he was caught, it wouldn’t be the first time, but he waited, wondering if she'd give him a sign. Unfortunately, she stayed still. Jake considered that she was fighting what to do as much as he was, but soon enough, her head did come up and he panicked.

His eyes moved down immediately, and saw a way out as he noticed the stapler he had borrowed from her earlier. Without hesitation, he threw it towards Boyle’s trash can. Jake grinned at Boyle’s inevitable comment, wider at Amy’s realization that it was her stapler, wider again when he saw Captain Holt’s door open.

Of course, Amy had to make the situation more hilarious by acting like a kid in school to the Captain’s presence. The staple coming loose was the cherry on top. It took everything he had to keep his laughter in.

That stopped when Captain Holt disclosed the situation. He had heard Rosa talk about this case, about the suspect who kept slipping through the cracks and it was driving her insane. There was no way he had wanted to be in Kindall’s shoes, but now, Jake knew that he had to follow through or else those would be his shoes.

Amy had taken the address from the Captain, but he dibbed driving before she had a chance to call it. Driving would at least force him to focus on something else for a change.

But that didn’t stop him from sliding across the hood once they got to their car. Amy had tried stifle a chuckle, but he had heard it, so he grinned before turning around, not surprised to see her roll her eyes.

Trying not to be impressed, she walked up to the passenger side. “How many times did you practice that?”

It was a fair question, considering what happened last time, but he just shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I told you that I’d do it. Peralta guarantee achieved.”

She shook her head, opening her door. “Just get in the car.”

 He did so, starting and moving the car before she had a chance to do up her seatbelt, knowing it would get a rise out of her. He waited for the inevitable comment, but apparently, a glare was enough this time before she scrambled to buckle up.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Jake noticed her glance his way a few times, so he tried to maintain his expression as he followed the directions. It seemed to work until Amy broke the silence.

“Shoot, I forgot to clean my stapler.” This time, Jake couldn’t hold back his laughter, so it wasn’t long before she added, “Yeah, well, next time throw your own stapler.” She then reached across and slapped his arm, causing Jake to feign hurt, but the expression faded to a smirk.

“That would require having a stapler.” He looked over to Amy, who looked less than pleased. “Oh come on, I had to do something. You were in your weird mood of obsessing over paperwork. What case could possibly be that interesting?”

“I was putting the final touches on the Nesterton abduction case.”

That was what he thought, as Jake knew all about that case. He was supposed to be on that case, but Boyle had to replace him when his injury recovery wasn't going according to schedule. It was probably for the best, considering the case was with the 82nd. The last thing he needed was another person reminding him of his feelings for Amy.

Of course, he didn’t want to bring that up. “Huh.”

He had hoped she would drop it, but she took it a different way. “Don’t give me that, Peralta. It’s just paperwork.”

Well, there was no talking around it now. “On a case where you had to work with your ex.” He scoffed as his feet hit the brakes. When the car stopped, he glanced towards her. “Let me guess, you shared pilsners when you got the guy.”

“Jake, this isn’t funny.”

No, it really wasn’t. He would have rather focused on something that wasn’t about her ex, but she didn’t give him much choice. He even had his next zinger ready, but her expression convinced him that now wasn’t the time. “I thought you were over him.”

She sighed. “I am, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty for the way things ended.”

Which was fair. Sloppy was an understatement when it came to the end of Amy’s relationship with Teddy. What started as a fun double couple’s retreat ended up in shambles. Then again, it wasn’t Amy’s idea.

“That was kind of my fault,” he said, as he was the one to call Teddy. Jake had the best of intentions, but he hadn’t helped the situation by confessing his feelings for Amy before going undercover.

Still, it didn’t surprise him to see her shake her head in response. “If I had gotten the courage to do what was needed instead of making a speech, that road trip disaster could have been avoided.”

“But that’s what you do.” People like Amy had their own process of making the right decision and Jake respected that. “You shouldn’t have to change who you are to do the right thing Santiago-style.”

“Even if it led to the most awkward dinner date of all time.”

Jake doubted that was the case. It was awkward, but he had a few memories that topped it. “It’s in the past, right?”

The moment those words came out, he regretted them. He could have said anything else, but apparently he had to make the situation even weirder. She hadn’t said anything, so he looked back at her and noticed that she had cleared her throat. “Right,” she said.

After that, she got eerily quiet, and Jake felt grateful that they were close to the address. Heck, he was thanking his lucky stars that she let him drive. The odd glance that he stole was hard enough, but knowing that he had to focus on the road helped to erase thoughts of her from her mind. That wouldn’t have helped if they had to wait a long time for their perp, but luckily, right when he parked their car, Jake spotted him on the sidewalk.

From that moment, it was everything else didn't matter, as they knew that the professional came first. The awkwardness would fade away and they would do their job, with a little side banter. In the end, they got the guy back in the car, and that should be enough to keep that flame alit, but she smiled at him before they got in their seats and it was back to square one.

Jake tried not to let it show, but no doubt Amy would notice that he was holding the steering wheel harder than before.

_Tall butt_ , he thought to himself, trying to bring his focus away from her. _Weird elbows_.

But that only did so much good, because he had a partner who worked well with him and seemed to get him as a person. No matter what little flaw he could find with her body, it wouldn’t take away the personality he was drawn to. Sure, they both had issues when it came to their personal lives, but with each other, they always seemed to know the line. That was part of the reason why he couldn’t just move on.

When they got back to the precinct, he heard her sigh, but she wouldn’t tell him why she felt that way. It was probably the best course of action, considering Kindall was in their back seat, but for the first time, Jake thought that maybe she knew that they had to talk about this.

Unfortunately, Amy didn’t give him much chance once they were inside, as she went back to her desk without a word. Rosa gave him a weird look about it, but Jake shook it off, even though he was pretty sure this was his fault.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t talked about this. But since they were both single? Since something like this mattered? Not so much. That was probably why they avoided it, because as long as they didn't talk about it, it wasn’t real.

But it couldn’t continue like this. Eventually, their professional blinders weren’t going to work and Jake couldn’t risk losing their professional partnership. If it meant putting his feelings on hold, then that was fine. That was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

However, before he could reach his desk, Rosa said that she needed to talk to him, so he followed her to one of the empty observatory rooms. Boyle was in the adjoining interrogation room, but Jake ignored that as Rosa closed the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she looked, which probably meant that this had nothing to do with the case.

“Look, I don’t normally care about this,” she said, confirming his suspicions, “but your stupid staring contests with Amy are getting out of hand.”

Then again, he hadn’t anticipated that was where she was going. “What?”

Rosa crossed her arms. “You think no one notices. That’s cute.” Her expression said otherwise, but he couldn’t blame her. She was crazy observant, even when it came to things like this. Not to mention that his stapler throw earlier probably smelled of desperation. “Seriously, what are you waiting for?”

Initially, Jake was waiting for the right time, but now, the main problem was that he didn’t know what to do. He had come close to asking her out multiple times, but it looked like he had waited too long. “She doesn’t date cops.”

“And you didn’t date defense attorneys,” Rosa said after a shrug. “Rules are made to be broken, right?”

Normally Jake would agree with her. But this was different. Amy was different. “Not like this.”

“You at least know that she likes you, right?”

That was the thing. He wanted to think that he wasn’t the only one making a fool of himself, but he didn’t know if his feelings were just making her nervous, or if she felt the same. “How do you know?”

Rosa scoffed, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to detect. “Because I have eyes.”

Jake was about to respond, but they were both distracted by Boyle becoming more animated in the interrogation room. He was clearly having trouble with this perp, but Jake wouldn’t let them get distracted for too long, despite the fact that Rosa would likely prefer to be in that room right now.

After clearing his throat, he watched her move her attention back to him. “That’s not enough.”

“One thousand push-ups,” she said quickly, not wanting to waste any more time on this.

The admission still caused Jake to take a step back, as he knew what that meant. “Seriously?” While he had been the one to abuse it, and she wouldn’t on something as silly as this if she didn’t mean it, Jake had to be sure.

But Rosa didn’t respond to his question. “If it happens, it happens. If not, whatever, but we’re tired of seeing you two act like idiots.” She walked around Jake, but she paused at the door. “Man up or move on, it’s your call.”

“Okay.” Turning his head over his shoulder, he smiled at Rosa. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” she replied, and Jake knew she meant that literally.

She was about to open the door, but they were thrown by Boyle accidentally hurting his hand when he slammed it on the table. They couldn’t hear the resulting sound, but the way that he shook his hand in pain caused her to laugh.

Jake chuckled once, but as he turned, he realized something. “Wait a sec, you said _we’re_ tired?”

Rosa rolled her eyes, either not realizing her slip, or annoyed that Jake had to ask. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes. “Most of the precinct had a bet going.”

“So you have a selfish purpose for this?”

“No.” Her mouth shut right after, and Jake knew that there was more to this story. When he tilted his head, showing his skepticism, Rosa added, “I did two weeks ago.”

Jake did the math, realizing that was around the case that they did with Detective Majors, the last time that she had talked to him about this. “What was the pot?”

“Does it matter?” Rosa asked, causing Jake to nod. When it came to bets at the 9-9, the amount implied how obvious or inevitable something was. So when Rosa said, “Hundred bucks,” he knew that there was no denying that the precinct knew all.

He wouldn’t let Rosa see that though. “Who’s up now?”

“No one. You idiots have gone further than we all thought, but we’re considering making a new bet.” Taking a step from the door, she said, “I thought I’d come to you now because I didn’t want you to find out about the bet and have it influence your decision.”

That was actually pretty thoughtful, especially for Rosa. “What did the last bet start?”

She sighed, as he was purposely missing her point. “Boyle lost almost right away, Gina thought you’d say something stupid after losing out on Jenny Gildenhorn. Sarge told us to be more professional before ponying up, thinking Santiago would crack first.”

“Huh,” Jake said, having no idea that the team had their suspicions for that long. It shouldn’t have shocked him, they worked with detectives, but seeing Rosa actually manage a grin made Jake realize that they cared about this too.

“Look, none of that really matters if Amy continues to be the only person who doesn’t know you still have feelings for her. You deserve happiness Jake. She does too.”

He nodded, a smirk forming on his face. “Marcus really made you quite the romantic.”

“Shut up,” she said as her familiar snarl came back, but he didn’t back down.

“No, that was Gilmore Girls’ fault.”

Sure enough, before Rosa turned, her expression somehow managed to get worse. She swung the door open and said, “I’m going to kill Boyle.”

Seeing her turn storm out, Jake called out, “Take it easy on him, it’s not his fault that he can’t keep a secret.”

That didn’t seem to work, as Rosa went in the interrogation room and banged Boyle's head on the table. The door was still open, so the soundproofing did little to quiet Boyle's scream, followed quickly by the perp’s confession.

Jake smirked as he walked by a strange win-win that would likely only happen here. Unfortunately for him, most of what Rosa had said hadn’t fallen on deaf ears, and sure enough, before he arrived at his desk, Amy was looking right at him.

“Oh that?” Jake said, pointing back towards the room he had just left. “Rosa owed Boyle a favour and that perp wasn’t talking. Nothing like the Diaz touch to get another win for the 9-9.”

Amy's body shook a little before she turned back to her computer screen, so Jake sat back down, almost grateful for the normal hours that followed. But when he saw Amy pack up her things, he remembered all the things that Rosa had said, all the things he had thought in the car, and the next thing he knew, Jake was starting to gather his stuff.

It didn’t take long, so he ended up walking right behind her to the elevator. Jake was about to let Amy know, but instead, he noticed Rosa roll her eyes at him. Amy had reacted to it as if it was meant for her, but the way Rosa muttered, “ _You’re such a moron,”_ pretty much clinched that it was directed his way.

Yet he didn’t regret leaving with Amy. Their banter in the elevator was the closest they had felt to normal all day. It was the perfect way to end the day, except he had decided to walk her to her car.

That was when he realized that maybe not watching Die Hard wasn’t as blasphemous as he thought. Because right now, he didn’t want to say goodnight to her. "Hey Ames, there’s ..."

She looked at him, and that was enough for Jake to forget what he was going to say. Recently, it didn’t take much. He could never figure out how Amy managed to still look this good after a long day at work that included closing a couple of cases and a rundown. These days, the effortless way she grinned at him was sometimes enough to make him speechless, and if Jake didn’t know that he was too far gone before, this was definitely a sign.

Go figure that it was Boyle who broke the silence this time. “Hey you two,” he said, and Jake was tempted to clobber him for using that voice. Jake didn’t want Amy to read too much into their friend’s obvious opinion about their relationship “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“For the hundredth time Boyle, no,” Jake said. Don’t get him wrong, he was relieved Boyle didn’t manage to make things more difficult when he worked with Amy on the Nesterton case, but this wasn’t helping.

“Well,” Boyle said, looking over to Amy, hoping for better results, but she just narrowed her eyes at his weird behaviour. One last look at Jake and it seemed that was enough for him to back off. “Sarge is buying a round at Shaw’s if you’re not too busy.”

Right now, that sounded about right, but before he could respond, Amy said, “I know my PVR can wait, but last I checked, not much comes between Peralta and Die Hard.”

He blinked, trying not to show Boyle too much. Her casual response had a pace that had shown Jake more than he thought, emphasized by the way she promptly turned to her car. “True,” he said, wondering if she would turn around, but instead, she paused in opening her door. “But free drinks is one of the exceptions. I’m in.”

Jake had to look away when Boyle's face lit up. He high-fived and grinned at him subconsciously, but most Jake’s focus maintained on Amy, who had turned around again.

He had a couple of questions on his mind, but he had to be sure that Boyle was out of ear shot. When he was sure, Jake looked back at her. “That’s okay, right?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”

He gave her a nod, a grin slowly forming. “Right.” He wanted to say more, but he didn’t have to be that guy tonight, as any action he made would get back to the group, which was the last thing he wanted until he knew what Amy wanted.

But as he started to walk towards his car, he heard Amy call to him. “Jake, wait. You… were going to say something.”

“Right, that,” he said, glad he was facing away from her, as he mouthed a few curses. Why she decided to call him on this, he didn’t know, but he had to think fast. Turning slightly, he smiled at her. “Actually, I was thinking it had been awhile since we got a drink after work, so this works out perfectly.”

Her mouth opened and closed before her words came to her. “Oh… okay. See you in a few.”

“Yeah,” he replied, but he doubted that Amy had heard him, as she had opened her car door.

It wasn’t a no, but as Jake walked back to his car, he hated that he had backed down again, but she deserved someone who has their life together, not someone like him who said _crushing debt_ to hide his bad spending habits. Heck, he couldn’t even be bothered to buy a new car, as his current one was a pity gift from his dad. Captain Peralta didn’t put it that way, but considering their last conversation, Jake knew he only got this so that he could sleep better at night. And for now, Jake would accept it, as work had kept him busy and he couldn’t afford a new one while he was trying to pay back what he owed people.

As he drove to Shaw’s, Jake turned on the radio to keep him from glancing towards the empty passenger seat. Not too long ago, Amy hated the idea of being in his car, but Jake had a feeling that was starting to change. Eventually, the radio blurred to white noise, and once he parked his car, he started to wonder if he knew exactly why Amy had sighed in the car earlier.

Then again, if that was the case, what was he so afraid of? They had this conversation before and survived. Even if circumstances were different, that didn’t matter. This wasn’t about their surroundings, it was about his feelings for her, her feelings for him. Jake knew how he felt and Rosa had given him reasonable evidence to believe that she felt the same.

That was something he couldn’t ignore now, and as he watched Amy enter the bar, Jake knew that he didn’t want to ignore it anymore. Getting out of his car, he ran across the street to Shaw’s, spotting the crew at a table across the room, but he knew that he needed a beer first. Stopping at the bar, he sat down on a stool and waited for the bartender to come to him.

“Whatever you have on tap,” Jake said, not overly picky about his liquid courage tonight. He pulled his wallet, prepared to pay, but a hand stopped him.

Sure enough, it was Amy who was standing next to him. “I’ve got this.” Looking at the bartender, she added, “Add four more to that, please.” After paying up, she leaned against the counter.

“Thanks,” Jake said, tilting his beer in her direction.

Amy shrugged. “I figured it was my turn to cover a round.” Now sitting on the stool next to him, her focus shifted to the rest of their team across the bar.

Jake turned his head and smiled at the spirited discussion they were having. “We’re pretty lucky, aren’t we? Having a family like this at the precinct.”

“We are.” Jake heard the stool move from behind him, so he turned back and saw Amy try to grab all five glasses. She was struggling with the last one, so he instinctively grabbed it. She nodded to show her gratitude for the help, then tilted her head back. “But we should still try and get that drink another night.”

“Huh?”

She pursed her lips at his surprise. “Unless the offer is no longer valid.”

“No,” Jake replied, almost too quickly, although what he said next didn’t make it better. “It’s open. Wide open.”

He waited for Amy to tease him for that. It was even okay material for sex tape joke standards, but instead, she just smiled at him. “Alright.”

She started to walk back to the table, leaving Jake alone with the first silence between them that he didn’t mind. For now, he could see for himself that he didn’t have to lie to Amy anymore.

 

 

**~End~**

**Author's Note:**

> As my original venture for fandom is fan videos, I partially blame my venture into this fandom though charlottekaling’s [maybe? yes?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpZVTsZ-7yI). This is my weird way of saying thanks.


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